3.1 Defining Federalism

• Federalism- Organizing a nation so two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same area and people.

• Instead of using Federalism, most nations have a Unitary Government which means all power resides in a central government.

• States receive power from the constitution whereas Local government receives authority from the state.

3.2 The Constitutional Basis of Federalism

The Division of Power

• National Government - Protect states from violence and invasion

• States - Ratify constitutional amendments, responsible for elections.

• States and National Governments - establishing courts, maintaining law and order, protecting health and safety, and regulating financial institutions.

National Supremacy

• Supreme law of land - The Constitution, Laws of the national Government, and Treaties

• Judges are directed to obey the Constitution

The Civil War

• Civil war was a struggle between national and state governments.

• The National Government asserted its power over the southern state’s claim of sovereignty.

The Struggle For Racial Equality

• In the 1960s two Black kids were admitted into the University of Alabama as a result of the National government's push to end segregation due to the fact that segregation was deemed unconstitutional.

• The governor of Alabama tried to stop the kids from entering the school but it was up to the National Government.

The Tenth Amendment

• “Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” - The Tenth Amendment

• the amendment means that the national government has only those powers that the Constitution specifically assigned to it. The states or people have supreme power over any activity not mentioned there.

• The Court held, in essence, that it was up to Congress to decide which actions of the states should be regulated by the national government

The Eleventh Amendment

• Federal courts can order states to obey the Constitution or federal laws and treaties.

• Lawsuits against state agencies (ex. police departments) are very common in federal court.

Implied Powers

Commerce Power

• The Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate interstate and international commerce.

• Commerce covers not only the movement of goods, but also radio signals, electricity, telephone messages, the Internet, insurance transactions, and much more.

• 19th Century - use interstate commerce power to regulate the economy.

• The Court then ruled that the interstate commerce power did not give Congress the right to regulate local commercial activities.

• Congress prohibited racial discrimination in 1964 on the bias of its power to regulate interstate commerce.

States’ Obligations to Each Other

• The states must deal with each other as well, and the Constitution outlines certain obligations that each state has to every other state.

Full Faith and Credit

• States are required to give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and civil judicial proceedings of every state.

Extradition

• The Constitution says that states are required to return a person charged with a crime in another state to that state for trial or imprisonment, a practice called extradition.

.Privileges and Immunities

• If, for example, a Texan visits California, the Texan will pay the same sales tax and receive the same police protection as residents of California.

• Only residents of a state can vote in state elections

3.3 Intergovernmental Relations

From Dual to Cooperative Federalism

• Dual Federalism - Both state and federal government systems do different things, and each are responsible for some policies

• Cooperative Federalism - Both state and federal government systems share powers and policy assignments.

• An example of today’s Government which is a cooperative system is schools. Both Federal and state government systems are involved in school systems.

• Highways are also an example of Cooperative Federalism because both Federal and state governments are involved in the running of the interstate system.

• Cooperative Federalism involves - Shared costs, federal guidelines, shared administration

Devolution?

• Devolution is the transferring of responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local governments

• Republicans found that limiting state government and turning to the federal government was the only way to achieve a wide range of policy objectives

Fiscal Federalism

• Federal funds are distributed to state and local governments so that the national government can influence the state and local governments.

The Grant System

• Categorical Grants = main source of fed aid to state and local governments. These grants can only be used for specific purposes.

• nondiscrimination provision - aid may not be used for purposes that discriminate against minorities, women, or other groups.

• Crossover Sanctions - when funds are withheld unless the state does what the federal government influences them to do.

• Categorical Grants -

• Project grants, the more common type, are awarded on the basis of competitive applications. National Science Foundation grants obtained by university professors are an example.

• Formula grants, as their name implies, are distributed according to a formula, which could be based on population or values like that.

The Scramble for Federal Dollars

• 600 billion dollars at stake = many states and cities have hired people to keep track of money and how to get money to the states and cities.

The Mandate Blues

• Sometimes states would rather not have aid from the Government.

• If the federal government wants to expand a state program, they can say either you expand the program or stop receiving aid which ends up being bad because they end up spending more money expanding the program than they receive in the end.

• Medicaid is a good example of this.

3.4 Diversity in Policy

• Since all states are different, if one state abolishes a Policy, the other states don’t have to. This causes Diversity in Policy.

• States may also take initiatives on what most people view as national policies when the federal government acts contrary to the views of people within those states

• An example of this is different school systems in different states. In 2009, Vermont and Rhode Island spent $18,913 and $16,127 per student, respectively, while Arizona spent only $6,385

3.5 Understanding Federalism

• Federalism provides for effective representation of local interests, reduces conflict at the national level, encourages acceptance of losing elections, and increases the opportunities for citizens to participate in government and see their policy preferences reflected in law

• Federalism increases the opportunities for local interests to thwart national policy, can result in the election of a president not favored by a majority of the public, and complicates efforts to make government responsive.